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Batwoman
Track Record When Worlds Collide tournament - Tag team with Wonder Woman History 52 Katherine "Kate" Kane was Renée Montoya's former lover and heiress to one of the wealthiest families in Gotham City, owning that which the Wayne family does not. While investigating the mysterious activities at 520 Kane Street, Renee discovered that the building was owned by the Kanes and asked Kate to help find the connection between the Kanes and the address. While still upset from their breakup, Kate agreed to help Renee, but punched her after Renee mentioned their prior relationship. Renee suggested they once loved each other, and Kate told her to leave. Not long after that, Batwoman began observing Montoya from the rooftops as Renee conversed with the Question (in his guise as "Charlie") in an alley. Kate met with Renée and Charlie in Gotham Park and confirmed that the warehouse was being leased by Ridge-Ferrick until six weeks earlier. Renee refused to tell Kate what was going on, saying that she didn't owe Kate anything, which shocked Kate and prompted her to tail them as Batwoman. When Renee and the Question broke into Ridge-Ferrick's Gotham offices, they were attacked by Whisper A'Daire's shapeshifting minions, and Batwoman arrived to rescue them. Making quick work of two monsters, Batwoman stopped Renee from shooting the third, instead kicking the monster out a window. Batwoman informed them the police were coming, asked that she not be mentioned, and left. After Renee learned that the Book of Crime, a sacred text of Intergang, contained a prophecy foretelling the brutal murder of the "twice named daughter of Kane," she and the Question returned to Gotham. They contacted Kate by flashing a Bat-Signal, and the three joined forces to avert Intergang's plans. As Kate continued the case, she was joined by Nightwing, who had recently returned to Gotham and becomes infatuated with her (no doubt because of her resemblance to former Batgirl Barbara Gordon), though she assured him she wasn't his type. On Christmas Eve, he gave her an 'official' Batarang. She also celebrated Hanukkah with Renee, and the two kiss shortly before Christmas. Intergang realized that the image of Batwoman in the Crime Bible and the cited "twice-named daughter of Cain" were one and the same, and ransacked Kate's apartment, kidnapping her with the intention to sacrifice her. Renee found her, seemingly too late to save her, as during the ensuing fight with Bruno Mannheim, Kate pulled the knife out of her own chest to stab Mannheim and then collapsed in Renee's arms. Kate survived her wounds after Renée used pseudoderm to patch up the wound and stop the bleeding, leaving Kate at the hospital in Renée's trenchcoat. As Kate recuperated in her Penthouse, Renée, dressed as the Question, shined the batsignal into her apartment and asked "Are you ready?" One Year Later One year after the start of 52, the Penguin suggests Batman bring a date to the opening of his club, asking, "Why don't you bring that new Batwoman? I hear she's kind of hot." Batwoman later appeared when Renée Montoya confronted Trickster and Pied Piper to question them about the murder of Bart Allen, having trailed them from Penguin's Iceberg Lounge nightclub. Renée again left town, irritating Kate, though she agreed to help Renée in tracking down a copy of the Crime Bible, being sold via the Penguin. The book was actually part of the Lessons that the Order of Stone was attempting to teach Renée, and she and Kate fight over the book. In the end, as Renée claims she only wants it to protect Kate. Kate tells her that Renée never asked what Kate wanted, but lets her take the book. Final Crisis During the Final Crisis, Kane was one of the millions who fell under the influence of the Anti-Life Equation, and became a member of the Female Furies. Batman Reborn After the Crisis, Kane continues to act as Batwoman and, with the new Batman's blessing, investigates the 13 chapters of the Crime Syndicate in Gotham, and their new High Priestess, Alice. Her father, Colonel Kane, assists Kate in her role as Batwoman, supplying her with technology and training, as do Kyle Abbot and two other shape-shifters, who themselves are the True Believers. When Alice kidnaps Kate's father and plans to unleash a toxic gas over Gotham, Abbot commandeers a plane to stop her. Kate manages to stop the weapon and save her father, but in the final fight, Alice falls from the plane to her death, refusing to take Kate's hand and be saved. Before she falls, Alice tells Kate "You have our father's eyes." Strengths & Weaknesses Abilities As Batwoman, Kate lacks any superpowers, and instead relies on her martial artistry and Batman-inspired equipment when fighting crime. Skilled Martial Artist: In the ten years since her breakup with Renée Montoya, she has learned to fight and is able to defeat three monsters, as well as spy on Renee and the Question with relative ease. Heiress: Being the heiress of a family whose fortune is comparable to the Waynes, Kate possesses the finances to produce an arsenal of equipment, similar to Batman. This includes a baton-like device which can extend from the center in length and has Bat-shaped attachments at each end. Strength Athlete: Kathy Kane possesses the strength level of a woman her age, size and weight who engages in intensive regular exercise. Weaknesses At the end of the day Kate is only human and possesses all the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of anyone else, although her Batsuit offers her at least some protection from most conventional attacks. Equipment Kate wears a utility belt similar to the one worn by Batman. What this belt has yet to be confirmed. Weapons Batarangs; Bat-club Trivia * In her civilian identity as a socialite, she is acquainted with Bruce Wayne and is friends with a doctor named Mallory, who treats the Question's cancer and later Kate's stab wound. * In the Golden Age and Silver Age there was also a Kathy Kane who also became Batwoman. Unlike those histories, this Kathy Kane is not the elder aunt to the first Bat-girl, Betty Kane, who has become now known as Flamebird. Kate Kane is related to the New Earth versions of Kathy Kane and Bette "Flamebird" Kane. Montoya alludes to there being an older Katherine Kane in Kate's family, possibly referring to her stepmother. * Unlike the Silver Age Kathy Kane, who was written as being romantically attracted to Batman, the new version of Kane is written as a "lipstick lesbian." Her homosexuality was announced at the same time as the character was revealed in the spring of 2006. Stories appeared on television news outlets such as CNN, general news magazines such as "USA Today", and gay culture magazines such as Out. While many LGBT characters in comics are publicneeded with their sexual orientation, Kane is an example of a closet homosexual; one who makes a conscious effort to conceal her sexuality by any means. Renée Montoya, Kane's former lover, hinted during 52 that Kate's inhibitions were the reason behind their break-up. Kate's homosexuality is funny, because the original Batwoman was created purely as a love interest to help end rumors that Batman himself was homosexual, perpetuated by Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent. * In 2007, DC Direct released a Batwoman action figure as part of their 52 series line. * Kate is Jewish, and celebrated Hanukkah with Renee. Category:Comic Book Characters